Controlled Experiment Chapter 41

Game of Death – 17

---

Xiao Bai's words left Du Yusheng stunned.

He suddenly found that all the fragments in his mind had been neatly strung together by a single thread.

The people in the photographs, including Luo Daheng and Chen Xin, all have one thing in common: they all knew this man surnamed Jing. This Jing was an arms dealer who dabbled in nothing but illegal business. Could it be that these people also had a hand in Jing's dealings? Du Yusheng scratched his chin, unable to work it out.

What puzzled him even more was that the dead didn't just include Luo Daheng and Chen Xin, his own father was among them.

Old Master Du hadn't even known this Jing, so why had he been dragged into all this?

Or perhaps the old man had kept something from me, something he had taken with him to the grave.

Du Yusheng glanced at Xiao Bai.

He exhaled deeply and said, "This arms dealer needs to be investigated properly. I want to know exactly how he died, and as for the people in that photograph, the ones still alive, don't leave a single one out, look into every last one of them. I want to know what they've been doing recently and what they're planning next. Not one of them is allowed to end up dead again."

Xiao Bai blinked, his face pale. He felt as though he might have just said something wrong.

"Luo Daheng and Chen Xin's cases could very well just be the beginning," Du Yusheng said, lighting a cigarette. "The killer we've found might only be a middleman, the person who actually wanted them dead, we've not uncovered that yet. The key must lie with this arms dealer."

Xiao Bai paused to think, as Du Yusheng took a drag on his cigarette, the orange glow flickering at the tip. Xiao Bai stared at it and felt his brain tightening.

Although Xiao Bai didn't know the truth of the matter, his intuition told him Du Yusheng was getting closer.

"I'll go investigate then," Xiao Bai said.

Du Yusheng looked at Xiao Bai and shook his head.

Du Yusheng hadn't figured out the nature of the relationship between Li Yao and Xiao Bai yet, so he wasn't ready to take that risk. In any riddle, the most important thing was reaching the correct answer. From the day Du Yusheng discovered Old Master Du's death, that answer had been waiting, and Du Yusheng didn't want a single mistake along the thread.

"You're coming with me to investigate the two leads we've got on hand. Let's wrap up this case first," Du Yusheng paused for a few seconds before continuing, "As for the matter of the photograph, aside from the bureau, I'm going to find someone else to look into it."

"Who?" Xiao Bai asked.

Du Yusheng shot him a look.

There were some things he had been holding back for a long time.

"Mu Bai." It was rare for Du Yusheng to call someone by their full name. He said, "Trust goes both ways. You've deceived me before, you know that. The only reason you're still working with me is because I still trust you, but you need to make me feel you're worth that trust. You were transferred up from below, haven't even been in the job that long when you put it all together. This arms dealer died at least ten years ago, and yet you recognised his face at a glance. If you were me, what would you think?"

Xiao Bai wanted to explain, but Du Yusheng raised a finger and held it between them.

"There's no need for you to say anything," Du Yusheng said with a smile. "I'll say it again, you need to make me feel you're worth my trust."

Xiao Bai desperately wanted to explain that he hadn't lied, but when you've told too many lies, no one will believe you when you tell the occasional truth.

Du Yusheng could have pressed further, Xiao Bai had already prepared himself for what he would say next, but instead, he opened the car door and gestured for Xiao Bai to get in, saying nothing. Sometimes silence said more than words. Xiao Bai wasn't particularly well-read, but even he felt that that line from a poem suited the moment.

Outside the car, colleagues were passing by one after another, each carrying newly recovered evidence.

But in Du Yusheng's eyes, everything they'd found at Chen Xin's home couldn't compare to the importance of that photograph.

The fact that Xiao Bai could recognise the arms dealer's face so easily deeply unsettled Du Yusheng. He felt like a puppet, unsure whose hand held the strings. Du Yusheng rubbed his face and flipped through his phone. The address of the milk delivery company came through quickly. Du Yusheng opened the navigation app and glanced at it, the milk delivery man lived quite far from here. Even by car, it would take forty minutes.

What kind of motive could drive an ordinary milk delivery man to kill?

Du Yusheng opened the photo again on his phone, his eyes scanning back and forth over the people in it, eventually settling on the arms dealer in the centre. In the photo, he looked young, probably at the typical age for marriage, and he had a faint smile. Though his features together gave him a rather fierce look, taken individually his eyes and brows were actually sharp and handsome.

There was something familiar about him, he reminded Du Yusheng of someone. Without quite knowing why, Du Yusheng opened WeChat and sent a message to Li Yao:

"Do you know someone with the surname Jing?"

As soon as he sent those eight words, Du Yusheng locked the screen, as though afraid he'd change his mind and delete it.

=========

Though the milk delivery man's home was quite far from the expensive school district apartments, it wasn't run-down.

The residential complex was made up of high-rise buildings, with a full set of facilities.

Even just renting a place here wouldn't be cheap. Relying on a milk delivery man's wage alone would never be enough, so where did his money come from?

Du Yusheng scratched his face and sent Xiao Bai to the property management office to make enquiries while he parked the car. After confirming that Xiao Bai had left his line of sight, he opened his phone contacts and dialled He Shen's number.

That bastard might've been a spoiled rich kid, but when it came to digging into someone's background, even finding out who in their family was cheating or who regularly frequented nightclubs, he was an expert. Most likely, it was because He Shen had long been immersed in the world of nightlife and entertainment, mingling with all sorts. Those places were full of all kinds, and if you knew how to talk, you could always extract something.

There was a Shen in his name. (Angel: 绅, or member of the gentry. Essentially, it describes individuals of relatively well-established status, often associated with land ownership or influential social connections)

He Shen's father had always hoped he'd grow up to be a gentleman, but unfortunately, what He Shen loved most was spending money and playing around.

"I said, did you get the WeChat I sent you or not? Say something," Du Yusheng began.

On He Shen's end, it was noisy even in broad daylight, it sounded like a fucking concert.

"Du Yusheng, have you fucking lost it?" He Shen looked at the photo Du Yusheng had sent via WeChat and said, "You blurred out everyone else and left just the guy in the centre, what's that supposed to mean? You want me to look into him? Isn't this your case?"

The background noise was so loud that Du Yusheng really wished he had a noise-cancelling button for his phone.

"He's dead," Du Yusheng growled. "I want you to look into what he was up to before he died. He was an arms dealer, that kind of thing's tricky. He's dead, no testimony. And even if you find people connected to him, no one dares admit they were involved. The bureau will be looking into it too, but I still want to know what you can find out by poking around."

He Shen was a sharp person and he immediately sensed that this wasn't just a routine request.

He left the club, headed to the parking lot, got into his car, and only then called back.

"You're asking me to look into a dead man?" He Shen lit a cigarette. "An arms dealer... that'll take some serious effort."

Du Yusheng didn't get it. "What do you mean, what kind of serious effort?"

He Shen chuckled, scratched his eyebrow and said, "My wrist is missing a bit of decoration, it feels bare, doesn't look right."

Du Yusheng cursed into the phone.

"Come pick something from my place next week. If you don't like any, I'll buy you one. No matter how far it is, I'll get it for you."

"Alright then," He Shen replied, satisfied. "Thank you, Young Master Du."

Just before hanging up, Du Yusheng added, "Be careful."

He Shen might have been a rich playboy, but once he agreed to something, he always got it done, he was one of the more dependable people Du Yusheng knew. Handing the arms dealer's case over to him gave him peace of mind. With He Shen's findings combined with the bureau's investigation, Du Yusheng reckoned they'd be able to get a pretty solid grasp of the arms dealer's story.

After hanging up, Xiao Bai's figure appeared in the rearview mirror.

Du Yusheng opened the car door and got out.

"Brother Yu, I asked around," Xiao Bai pointed to the floor where the milk delivery man lived. "The owner of the apartment is called Yu Liang, that's him, the delivery guy."

"He bought this place?" Du Yusheng gave a cold snort. "Where did he get the money?"

Yu Liang's apartment was on a middle floor of the building. Each floor in this block was divided into two sides, three apartments on each, six in total. His was at the far end of the corridor. Standing at the doorway, Du Yusheng took a glance, the area around the doorframe was plastered with small ads. Judging by the remnants, Yu Liang had made an effort to tear many of them off. He clearly cared about the place.

Standing at the door, Du Yusheng gave it a look.

He knocked three times, no answer from inside.

Du Yusheng gave Xiao Bai a look, signalling for him to open the door.

The sharp, pungent smell of disinfectant immediately rushed into their noses.

Xiao Bai cursed, "Did he fucking paint the walls with disinfectant or what?"

It was a two-bedroom apartment with a living room, not a soul inside.

Du Yusheng glanced at Xiao Bai. "Is Yu Liang working today?"

Xiao Bai shook his head. "I just asked, he's at work."

"He's been out delivering all day? It's already afternoon, where is he?" Du Yusheng asked.

Xiao Bai sighed. "Maybe he went out? That security guard from last time said there were afternoon deliveries too, didn't he?"

Combined with the acrid smell of disinfectant, a sense of unease crept over Du Yusheng.

It was the same feeling he'd had when he discovered that Luo Yang's apartment had been completely renovated.

If Chen Xin's home could be described as modest, then this milk delivery man's apartment could only be called luxurious. The furniture was ordinary, there weren't any decorations to speak of, and the appliances were basic and low-end. But there was one cabinet, inside it was nothing but expensive bottles of wine.

The cabinet has hidden compartments, you need to pull it out to the second layer to see them.

Back when he used to go out drinking with friends, Du Yusheng had seen plenty of wine at vineyards, and the owners often had private collections.

But compared to what Yu Liang had stashed here, those collections looked downright pitiful.

Xiao Bai gaped, utterly stunned. "Yu Liang really kept this hidden well. Where did it all come from?"

"Where do you think?" scoffed Du Yusheng. "He bought it. Or what, brewed it himself?"

Xiao Bai was caught off guard and choked for a second. "... Where did the money come from?"

People who are into collecting tend to share a common trait, they might not care much about where they live, but they're always willing to spend real money on the things they love. Clearly, Yu Liang was one of those people. He had enough money to fill a cabinet with fine wine, yet his furniture and furnishings were utterly ordinary. That was easy enough to understand.

What Du Yusheng couldn't understand was why, if he clearly had money, he still worked as a humble milk delivery man.

The most likely explanation was that he didn't want anyone to know he was wealthy.

But why?

Du Yusheng pulled open a drawer in the living room.

Inside was an identity card. Picking it up, he swore under his breath.

"His name's not Yu Liang," Du Yusheng said. "The ID he showed us was fake, this one's real."

Xiao Bai, staring at the name "Zhao Liang" printed on the card and cursed as well.

He took a photo and sent it to someone at the bureau.

Twenty minutes later, Xiao Bai got a reply.

At that moment, Du Yusheng was sitting on the sofa in Zhao Liang's apartment, eating one of the tangerines from the coffee table. The entire place reeked of disinfectant. In other words, the apartment had been thoroughly cleaned by its owner, meticulously so. Even the toilet bowl had been scrubbed spotless, with no trace of use.

It reminded him of the state Luo Yang's place had been in after it was renovated.

Clearly, both places had been cleaned in an attempt to erase something, or someone's, presence.

Finishing the last sour tangerine, Du Yusheng took Xiao Bai's phone and had a look at the screen.

"This Zhao Liang is a loan shark," Xiao Bai explained as he flipped through photos. "Coincidentally, he's not local. He used to be a local thug, a loan shark enforcer with a criminal record. To make people pay back their debts, he would break their fingers and sell their organs. Later, somehow, he got caught up in it himself and became a loan shark. He knew better than anyone the consequences of compound interest. Unable to pay back, this person eventually disappeared." Xiao Bai took the ID card and glanced at it. "Looks like he came to a new city and forged a new identity."

"Compound interest," Du Yusheng pointed at the wine cabinet. "Does that fucking look like someone drowning in debt?"

Xiao Bai chuckled. "The milk delivery job makes sense, he didn't want to draw attention, didn't want anyone to know who he really was. But where'd he get the money for that cabinet of wine? He was supposed to be buried in debt."

"We'll have to find him first."

Xiao Bai nodded. "We've already sent people to the estate where he works."

Zhao Liang's study opened out onto a balcony and was full of natural light.

Du Yusheng stepped inside and took a look around.

There wasn't much on the desk, just a laptop and a few pens. Du Yusheng first opened the drawer beneath the desk in the study. Inside, he found black binoculars, and right beneath them, a sealed packet of yellow powder. The packaging was tight and secure. Du Yusheng reckoned it was the same kind of powder found in the ventilation shaft of Chen Xin's hospital room, some sort of sedative.

He took an evidence bag and placed both the powder and the binoculars inside.

Staring at the two items in his hands, Du Yusheng felt that the two lives lost finally had a lead.

Xiao Bai frowned at what Du Yusheng was holding. "Brother Yu, why do you think he killed Chen Xin and Old Qian? Even if you say Old Qian died because of Chen Xin, what kind of grudge would a milk delivery man, or rather, a loan shark, have against Chen Xin that he'd need to kill him?"

"What concerns me more is that controlled experiment note," Du Yusheng said. "This wasn't the first case, and the killer is different each time, could it really be a gang?"

With the binoculars and the sedative, it was now almost certain that Zhao Liang was the murderer.

Even if he wasn't, he was definitely involved.

Du Yusheng opened Zhao Liang's laptop.

There was no password, so it booted up easily.

Zhao Liang's laptop was very clean, no porn, no bizarre music, not even a single game.

Du Yusheng opened the browser history. There was only one entry.

A black-and-white web page soon appeared.

It was the last page Zhao Liang had visited on his computer.

The design of the webpage was simple: a white background with three large black words in a regular font across the top, 'Game of Death'. At the bottom were two empty text boxes, without any labels or instructions. However, it seemed Zhao Liang's computer had saved the login credentials, as six asterisks appeared in each box.

Du Yusheng clicked the enter button below.

The connection seemed a little slow. After twenty-odd seconds, the page finally refreshed for Du Yusheng.

It was still a white background with black text.

There was only a single line.

"This user has been deleted."

The word deleted felt like it carried two meanings to Du Yusheng.

One: the account had been deleted.

The other,

was the person.

=========

Author's Note:

So how will Li Yao reply to the WeChat message? Hahaha. "You asked me so directly."

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

Previous Chapter | TOC | Next Chapter

Translator Notes

Please feel free to comment any mistakes I made so I can improve and do better as I go through the book.

Translated: June 12, 2025 by Angel

Edited: June 26, 2025 by Angel